Anticipation
by SpareBucketTurtle
Summary: Dame-Tsuna wasn't always dame. He once had the sky's charisma. He once was a king. But he lost all of that. And they've been waiting, waiting for so long for their king to return. And they won't let the Vongola take him from them.
1. Chapter 1

New story. Yay. (Hear my enthusiasm). This was something I had lying around for a year or so...was pushed by a friend to finish it.

Here's the summary again for those of you reading on a phone, because I feel for you, I really do. Don't you just hate it when you have 10+ tabs of different stories saved to read for later, but you forget what the story is even about before you start? Yeah, that's me too.

Summary: Dame-Tsuna wasn't always dame. He once had the sky's charisma. He once was a king. But he lost all of that. And they've been waiting, waiting for so long for their king to return. And they won't let the Vongola take him from them.

And without further ado...

Disclaimer (Because apparently, it's something I must have even though everyone knows I don't own KHR): Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to Amano Akira.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

There was something about him.

There was something about Namimori as a whole.

And it frustrated Reborn that he didn't know what it was.

This boy was supposed to be an incompetent loser with no friend and unable to do anything right. And he was. Yet there was just _something_ about him.

Reborn vowed to get to the bottom of this mystery. The mystery of one Sawada Tsunayoshi, for the sake of his own sanity.

.A.

When Reborn introduced himself to his new student, he didn't get the reaction of disbelief at the ridiculous statement that he had expected. Instead, the boy had altogether ignored him to plead to his mother.

"Mom! If-if you told me you wanted me to get better grades, I would try harder. Why did you have to hire a tutor? I just-Why can't you just leave me alone?" Tsunayoshi practically begged. Even the desperate tone was present.

Sawada Nana had put her hand on her hips. "This isn't about your grades, Tsu-kun," Nana chided. "It isn't healthy, the way you behave. What you need is interaction, and a tutor will get you that. Look!" The woman all but shoved the piece of paper Reborn had dropped into their mailbox earlier that morning in front of Tsunayoshi's face. "'Will turn your child into the leader of the next generation'!" she quoted excitedly.

Tsunayoshi flinched so visibly that even his mother faltered for a moment.

"Besides," she pressed on, "the tutor has arrived already and he's so _cute_!"

Tsunayoshi's gaze flickered over to Reborn and he flinched again in response to the smirk he received.

"It'll be a _pleasure_ to teach you," Reborn drawled out, enjoying the gleam of fear that had appeared in the boy's eyes. "Nana-san," he announced, "I'll be taking Tsunayoshi-kun upstairs for his evaluation."

Tsunayoshi startled at being addressed. "Huh? Wha-But I don't-" Reborn knocked him out with a solid kick and started to drag the teen upstairs.

"Call me Maman, Reborn-kun!" he heard Nana call from behind him.

"Hai, Maman!" Reborn grinned almost ferally. It seemed this job wouldn't be so similar to Dino's like he thought it would.

He always did enjoy a challenge.

.A.

Tsuna jerked up as he woke. Pain, so much pain. Pain in his chest where he vaguely remembered physical contact, and pain in his head, throbbing as a heavy feeling of _warning_ invaded his whole body. He groaned as he cradled his head in his hands. _What happened?_ He moved to stand up from his position on the ground, but then froze. He had caught sight of a suit wearing baby watching him with beady black eyes and a smirk on his lips. The baby wore a fedora and- _is that a chameleon?_

Oh, right. This kid was the tutor his mother hired. "...I-Th-There's no point in tutoring me," Tsuna spoke up hesitantly. When was the last time he started a conversation? Tsuna wondered faintly. "It's not-not going to work," stammered Tsuna. He flinched when he noticed the baby examining him with calculating eyes. _Judging_ eyes. It took all his will to not turn away from those eyes that he feared so much. Minutes passed as the two stared at each other. No, it just felt like minutes. Seconds passed. Tsuna couldn't stand it anymore. "Just leave me alone!" He blurted out as he turned on his heels and _ran._

And ran.

And ran.

And ra-

"Tsuna?"

Tsuna stopped abruptly, the soles of his feet burning as he tried to keep himself from falling over. He jerked his head up to meet the face of Kaneda Osamu.

The flicker of concern Tsuna would later convince himself he didn't see turned into an ugly expression as he sneered. "What are you running from his time, Dame-Tsuna? A ferocious puppy?"

Shame caused heat to rise to Tsuna's face. "Sh-Sh-Shut up!" He stuttered as the overwhelming frustration made him snap. Osamu took a step back, eyes widening in surprise. Face burning, Tsuna turned and continued running, missing the sigh Osamu released under his breath as he ran a hand through his hair.

.A.

Reborn watched from above as his new student ran away from the other teenager. Kanade Osamu had gelled up dark hair and brown eyes, typical Asian coloring, and was Tsunayoshi's classmate. Reborn frowned when the boy kept a lingering gaze on Tsunayoshi's back. The gaze didn't hold any sort of malice, unusual for a bully-victim relationship.

Reborn had to admit though that Tsunayoshi ran faster than expected. Had he not left to follow the brunet when he did, Reborn might have lost him at the block corner.

"What do you think, Leon?" Reborn spoke aloud to his animal companion, "Not quite what we thought." He grinned. "That only makes it more fun though. Let's head back and wait for this Dame-Tsuna to return."

.A.

Tsuna returned home hours later.

"Tsu-kun!" Nana exclaimed in a chiding tone when said boy entered the house through the front door long after the sun went down. "Haven't I told you not to stay outside so late? What if you catch a cold? At least wear a jacket!" Nana ushered her son into the kitchen. She filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove. "This isn't healthy, Tsu-kun, and it's dangerous outside at night. What if you get kidnapped?" She chattered on mindlessly about unimportant things to fill the silence as she waited for the water to boil. When it finally did, she rushed to make a cup of tea. "Warm yourself up, Tsu-kun, and then go to sleep. You have school tomorrow."

Tsuna nodded mutely as he watched his mother wash and dry her hands and then leave the kitchen. He stared into his cup of tea, thoughts still in turmoil. He was sure that weird baby would be waiting for him in his room, and he didn't want to face him.

Nor did he want to sleep on the couch.

With a heavy sigh, Tsuna gulped down the rest of his tea, ignoring how the hot liquid burnt his throat. He set his now empty cup down in the sink and bid his mother good night, heading for the stairs. Tsuna stood in front of of his path to hell, craning his head up to stare at what he believed to be potential death. Hesitantly, Tsuna climbed the first step. Dread grew in his stomach. And it continued growing with each step he took. He arrived at the top of the set of stairs, and mechanically walked to the first door on the right, stopping in front of his room. He felt like hurling. Tsuna could already imagine it all in his head. He'd enter the room, and then the genius infant would force him to take diagnostic test after diagnostic test until the kid was satisfied with him. When Tsuna didn't live up to the kid's expectation, the kid would pass word to whatever contacts he had that Sawada Tsunayoshi was a shit of a student, and he'd be blacklisted from any colleges in the future. Tsuna took a deep breath and opened his room door to see the baby in a suit sitting in Tsuna's desk chair, legs crossed, fingers interlaced, as he smirked right at the brown haired teen.

"You sure took your time, Tsunayoshi," the baby - Reborn, Tsuna remembered his name was - commented in a nonchalant way. Tsuna fought the urge to flinch at his full first name. Reborn seemed to sense how uncomfortable Tsuna was, because he smirked, sending shivers down Tsuna's spine. "I expected Maman to be more worried about you being kidnapped so late at night."

Tsuna shifted his weight on his feet. "N-Namimori is a safe neighborhood," he replied awkwardly. He fidgeted in place.

Reborn seemed amused with his body movement. "Why don't you sit? This _is_ your room, after all."

 _Because you've taken over my room!_ Tsuna wanted to scream and express his frustration at the situation. And it was true. Tsuna could feel a powerful presence spreading through the room and the source of it was Reborn. Tsuna wanted to run away (again), but something, Tsuna wasn't sure what, _something_ told Tsuna he would regret that decision. So Tsuna sat. He occupied the edge of his bed, too self aware in front of this stranger to act more relaxed. And how could Tsuna relax? Reborn hasn't taken his eyes off of Tsuna once since he entered the room, and it really bothered the teen how Reborn was _still_ examining him like he expected something out of Tsuna. Tsuna hated to disappoint - he really didn't - but there wasn't anything in him worth searching for.

"Is...Is there anything you want?" Tsuna finally spoke up, unable to stand the silence.

And that bastard of a genius kid tutor just grinned, because he was just _waiting_ for that question. Yet he stayed silent. Tsuna waited for a response. " _I want you to accept me." "What can you tell me about school?" "How about a glass of milk?" "This is my room now." "I said I just wanted room and board, but your mother is too gullible so I thought I'd take advantage. Give me your money."_ Tsuna expected at least one of those and more.

"What do you know of the mafia?"

Tsuna stared blankly as the fedora wearing infant pet his chameleon.

 _What?_

Because _that_ was not what Tsuna expected.

* * *

And done.

 **Regarding** Kaneda Osamu...There's a kid in Tsuna's class called Osamu in canon. I found him on the KHR wiki. He's a real person, a real fictional person.

It feels short to me even though I know many people write their chapters around this length as well. Maybe it's just because I'm used to reading 5k+ long chapters...I need a life.

Anyways, thanks for reading my story, let me know what you guys think. Any guesses on what my intentions are? [Inset evil laughter] (Wondering where the heck I'll be going with this on the inside).

Most importantly though, I am an irresponsible procrastinating idiot. I warn anyone who reads this now that there will be no schedule for updates. I am a slow bucket turtle, and I will eventually manage to get my ideas out on paper (metaphorically, because this is online). Apologies.

Again, sorry in advanced, because I can't predict how my mind works.

Reviews would be helpful. Thanks again!


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, two chapters in two (three?) days! Wow, a second chapter at all? A new record for me. [Pats self on back].

I saw that I got reviews, but I couldn't see them. Thanks to those who did though.

I reread my chapter one and realized Nana _did_ talk about how Tsuna might have been kidnapped. So Reborn saying how he thought she would have is weird. My fault for writing the first and second halves of the chapter like, a year apart. I'll fix that...eventually. I'm glad people enjoy it though.

Here's the summary for you mobile people again.

 **Summary:** Dame-Tsuna wasn't always dame. He once had the sky's charisma. He once was a king. But he lost all of that. And they've been waiting, waiting for so long for their king to return. And they won't let the Vongola take him from them.

Disclaimer (Because this needs to be on every chapter as well, right?): Katekyo Hitman Reborn belongs to Amano Akira.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Tsuna got no sleep that night.

Not only was he now weighed down by the knowledge that his ancestor founded a mafia family, but that demon of a baby also slept in his room barely more than two meters away. Tsuna was afraid the hitman would kill him in his sleep. So when the snot bubble that Reborn produced during his sleep popped, signifying that he was waking, Tsuna felt his exhaustion grow tenfold. The infant even gave him a knowing smirk, and Tsuna knew to expect pain in the near future. Tsuna forced himself out of bed and into his school uniform. By the time he trudged downstairs, Reborn had sat himself down in the kitchen, eating the breakfast that Tsuna's mother made. Just the thought of his mother completely ignorant of the child-sized murderer by her side made Tsuna's stomach churn. Seeing the scene in front of him didn't help at all. The middle schooler grabbed his school bag, which he had left by the couch the day before, and headed for the front door.

"Tsu-kun?" Tsuna looked over his shoulder to see his mother peeking her head out from the kitchen. "Aren't you going to eat breakfast?"

"Not today," Tsuna answered quietly. "Sorry," he added, worried his mother would think he didn't like her cooking.

But she only smiled warmly and said, "Have a great day, Tsu-kun!"

Tsuna hated how he couldn't do more for her.

He forced his guilt back down, bracing himself for another day of humiliation at school as he left the house. He could take another day of school, he could take weeks and months of school and the hurtful but true things the other students and teachers said about him. With Reborn on the other hand...mafia? Tsuna had been incredulous the night before. This baby with a gun had just showed up in his house, saying he would be training Tsuna to be a _criminal_ of all things. Of course Tsuna couldn't help but laugh, earning him a kick in the ribs that already hurt from beforehand. Then Reborn took out a _gun_ and Tsuna believed that Reborn could kill him, if not the fact that he was part of the mafia. So under the threat of death, Tsuna accepted Reborn's claim.

But then Reborn said Tsuna was to be the _leader_ of the _greatest_ mafia family, and Tsuna wanted to scream. Why was this supposed ninth boss giving him, Dame-Tsuna, all this responsibility? Why did Tsuna, a mere civilian who knew nothing about the mafia and wasn't even willing, have to become the Ninth's successor? Then Reborn had taken out an old piece of paper that depicted a family tree, the ink at the bottom newer, less faded. Tsuna realized with horror that he was actually starting to believe this gun wielding infant's crazy story, because why the heck would anyone go as far as to make fake but genuine looking family tree just to mess with him? Because Tsuna knew no one in Namimori would do such a thing, and no one outside of Namimori, much less Japan, would even know who Tsuna was unless he actually did have some sort of foreign ancestor. Tsuna remembered eyeing the name _Giotto_ with hate. Then he had asked Reborn about the current boss's sons, and the gory pictures of death Tsuna was shown just made him feel even more sick.

So _school_ , the familiarity Tsuna had with school could take Tsuna's mind off of this whole situation, a sort of safe haven despite everything else from Reborn at home. Tsuna but back a bitter laugh. Before this happened, home had been Tsuna's haven from school. Oh, how the tables have turned. But maybe, just maybe...If Tsuna could just spend as much time out of school _and_ home, he could feel truly relaxed.

"That won't happen, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna almost tripped over himself. "Hiieee!"

.A.

Reborn listened with interest as Tsuna left the house. Nana returned into the kitchen, wringing her hands anxiously, brows furrowed with worry. It seemed it wasn't normal for Tsunayoshi to skip breakfast as he had first assumed. No, it was just today. And Reborn could easily guess why. Reborn watched his student's mother for a minute longer. Nana had gone back to the counter and started chopping vegetables, no doubt already preparing for lunch, but her cuts weren't perfect like they were the night before. "Do you want me to make sure Tsunayoshi-kun will be alright without eating?" he offered.

Nana blinked at him in surprise before smiling with relief. "Yes please, Reborn-kun. That would be very helpful."

"No problem at all, Maman," Reborn chirped, before leaving to follow Tsunayoshi.

The boy was obviously deep in thought as he walked to school barely missing a telephone pole. It was easy for Reborn to tell what Tsunayoshi was thinking though. He wore his emotions on his sleeve. The kid was probably thinking about their conversation from the night before, when Reborn revealed his true intentions in being there. Reborn watched from a distance as Tsunayoshi's face ranged from showing expressions of disbelief, to fear, to anger, to grim acceptance, to determination. But it was the wrong type of determination.

"That won't happen, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn spoke up as Tsunayoshi's face read " _I can get away from all this."_

Tsunayoshi stumbled, almost falling face first into the ground, yelping with a, "Hiieee!" at Reborn's suddenness.

Reborn hid a grin as Tsunayoshi looked up at Reborn, who had been walking atop the wall next to Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi was glaring at Reborn, and the hitman knew he'd have to teach the teen that treating him as a hostile wasn't a safe thing to do. "Why are you following me?" Tsunayoshi bit out.

"You're my student," Reborn said simply. He let a smirk form on his lips. "And because your mother asked me to," he fibbed, enjoying how Tsunayoshi was now split between relenting or getting even more furious. "I thought I'd see what kind of person you were," Reborn then said honestly. "The way a person acts around strangers is different from how they act around family or by themselves." What Reborn found curious, was how Tsunayoshi paled at the word 'strangers' as if he were hearing another word...Just as he did the night before when Reborn brought up the fact that not only would Tsunayoshi be trained to become a mafioso, but he would become the boss of the mafiosi. Tsunayoshi had a problem with leadership, Reborn could tell. Reborn was familiar with it. The fear of responsibility often came with a childhood of being a bully victim. But Reborn could _feel_ it. This had nothing to do with being bullied all his life.

Reborn hated how he didn't know why he felt this way, when that was the only explanation he could think of for a civilian like Tsunayoshi. "A boss must be able to earn the respect of those around him, not only those they know, after all." Reborn would have to fish for information.

And what an opportunity, too, because as soon as Tsunayoshi opened his mouth to retort (Reborn inwardly rolled his eyes, knowing Tsunayoshi would only spout out how he was not going to be a mafia boss), he was interrupted by a girl's voice.

"Tsuna-kun?"

Both Tsunayoshi and Reborn turned to see a teenager girl, Tsunayoshi's age, in Namimori-chuu's uniform, with short, light brown hair that could be called orange and hazel eyes that had flickers of gold in them. She was pretty for a school girl, Reborn judged, the ditzy kind of school girl that was nice to everyone. Dame-Tsuna wouldn't be on first name basis with her otherwise. Reborn watched Tsunayoshi closely. Depending on Tsunayoshi's relationship with her, Reborn would decide how to manipulate it to benefit Tsunayoshi's development as a boss.

"Kyoko-san," Tsunayoshi greeted grimly, as if he were dying just by speaking to her. "Good morning." Tsunayoshi avoided meeting her eyes, unable to stand even looking at her, not in the school boy crush kind of way, but was polite for the sake of being polite.

But Reborn's interest was definitely piqued by this interaction. This girl was Sasagawa Kyoko, the school's idol. She had absolutely no reason to be disliked by Tsunayoshi, but she wasn't liked by him either. Nor did their relationship hold the kind of neutrality that two distant classmates did. _Former friends?_ Reborn mused. It was a possibility that the two could have been friends until middle school, where people's outside appearance mattered more than primary school. Tsunayoshi's clumsy personality was a stark contrast to Kyoko's generous one. They would surely have been separated by society.

No, that wasn't it.

"Good morning!" Kyoko replied, eyes widening in surprise.

So exchanging greetings wasn't normal either.

Reborn jumped off the wall in front of Tsunayoshi, stealing Kyoko's attention away. "Ciaossu!" he said in his cutesy squeaky voice. Reborn hated it. It only reminded him of his curse, but it had its benefits.

"Oh! How cute!" Kyoko cooed, crouching down to Reborn's height. "Is this your cousin, Tsuna-kun?"

In the corner of his eye, Reborn saw Tsunayoshi grimace. "No." He offered no further explanation.

"Why are you wearing a suit?" Kyoko addressed Reborn directly.

"Because I'm a hitman," Reborn stated, and as expected, the girl only laughed.

"That's cool!" The sad thing was that even Reborn couldn't tell if Kyoko truly believed him or was playing along. The girl caught sight of her own watch. "Oh no, I need to get to school early today!" She stood up and turned to Tsunayoshi. "See you at school, Tsuna-kun, I'll be going first."

Reborn turned around to see Tsunayoshi watching her back as she left. "Do you like her?" Reborn asked even though he knew he didn't.

Tsunayoshi eyed him warily. "No. Kyoko-san is just a classmate."

"Oh? But she called you _Tsuna-kun_ ," Reborn had to tease, emphasizing what she called him.

"I didn't ask her to!" Tsunayoshi snapped, fed up with Reborn's intrusive comments.

Reborn narrowed his eyes, and without communication, Leon crawled down his fedora into his hand, transforming to his favorite CZ75 1ST. Tsunayoshi paled. "You've been pretty rude all morning," he said in an offhanded way, taking aim. "To your mother, to your classmate, and to me." Actually, Tsunayoshi was more polite than Reborn knew teenagers to be. "You should be punished." He pulled the trigger.

The bullet skimmed the ends of Tsunayoshi's hair. Tsunayoshi stood shell shocked for a moment before turning on his heels, sprinting to get away from Reborn and his trigger happy self. This was the second time Reborn witnessed Tsunayoshi's faster than expected speed. Reborn smirked. Ah, there was the challenge he was looking for.

.A.

Tsuna was chased by bullets all the way to school. He had the unfortunate luck of rushing right through the middle of Mochida Kensuke's confession to Kyoko. Tsuna felt guilty for doing so, and he'd feel guilty until the end of his life. He, along with everyone else at Namimori-chuu except for Kyoko herself, knew that Kensuke had been in love with Kyoko for the longest time. It seemed Kensuke had finally found the courage to confess after being her long time friend, and Tsuna had ruined all that.

Kensuke snagged Tsuna up by the collar once he ran past, ready to shout and bitch about how some idiot had the nerve to interrupt him, the kendo captain, and Kyoko. Then he saw that said idiot was Tsuna. His rage twisted into a mix of fury and grief.

"I, Mochida Kensuke," Kensuke hissed loud enough for everyone around them to hear, eyes flashing angrily. "Challenge you, _Dame-Tsuna_ , to a kendo duel during lunch break over the right to date Sasagawa Kyoko!" Murmurs spread around them, and Kyoko stared at the two of them blankly, confused over what was happening. Her friend, Kurokawa Hana, dragged her away from the open where other students were free to point and whisper. Hana tossed a glare over her shoulder at the two boys, promising retribution for the commotion.

Tsuna knew this duel had nothing to do with Kyoko though. Kensuke wouldn't have been angry at anyone else who might have interrupted them, as he didn't even get the second word out yet. But this was Tsuna, Dame-Tsuna. "S-Sorry. I'm v-very sorry, M-Mochida-senpai," Tsuna choked out, air being cut off from his lungs because the upperclassman had pulled tightly on his collar. Tsuna was trying to appease the older teen. Maybe then he wouldn't have to go through with this duel.

Kensuke only scoffed with disgust and shoved Tsuna to the ground. Tsuna gasped for air, coughing. Kensuke glared down at him. "Don't run away, Dame-Tsuna. You'll be there. I'll make sure of it." He tugged his school bag over his shoulder and entered the school, not looking back.

Tsuna stood up shakily, dusting off his clothes and hair, wincing as he felt a bruise on his shoulder. He brushed his bag off of any dirt that might have gotten stuck and fixed his collar, ignoring the other students wandering around the school yard that stole glances towards him. Fixing his collar was important. It wouldn't do for the demon Hibari Kyouya to give him another beating on top of the one planned by Kensuke. Tsuna vaguely wondered if he could hide out in the restrooms until the lunch break was over.

"He won't be the only one making sure you'll go, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna turned to see Reborn, onyx eyes gleaming. Oh, right. He knew he was forgetting something when the bullets stopped shooting.

* * *

I should be doing homework. Like, really, doing homework. As in, that essay draft I haven't started but is do the next day and it's 9:30 pm, and I have a slow mind, a very slow mind.

 **About** Reborn's deep thinking, he's trying to figure out his student, that's why he's coming up with all these possible situations.

 **As** for why Reborn _still_ refers to Tsuna as Tsunayoshi, it's because Tsuna is still just another kid in Reborn's mind. He may be his student, but Reborn has no reason to be attached yet, considering they just met, so it's just Tsunayoshi or Dame-Tsuna to Reborn for now.

 **For** Mochida Kensuke, there's a reason why Tsuna refers to him of all people by his first name mentally. You guys will just have to read to find out.

Any other questions, just let me know.

Again, thanks for the support.

I never expected to update _this_ quickly. I don't think anyone should expect this to happen ever again. I am a bad person. I am also a bad student. I should be doing homework.

Right.

Homework.


End file.
